SEPANG, Oct 3 — Four-time world champion Max Verstappen continued his dominant form for Red Bull by claiming his first pole of the season on Saturday after topping qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The 29-year-old Dutchman, currently sixth in the world championship standings, clocked a best lap of 1min 35.130sec in the final minute of a close session held in high temperatures at the Sepang International Circuit.
He outpaced seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari by 0.298 seconds.
Isack Hadjar was third for Red Bull but will drop five places on the starting grid due to a penalty for fitting new engine components beyond the permitted quota.
Next came standings leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari and world champion Lando Norris of McLaren.
